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Dominique S

- Research Program Mentor

PhD at Howard University

Expertise

Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, Chemistry, Biology, Microscopes, Immuology

Bio

My name is Dr. Dominique Stephens and I am a biochemist that does research in cancer biology and immunology. My research looks to use microscopes to follow the movements and interactions of proteins. These proteins could potentially control our immune response and if we can control our immune response, we have a better chance of fighting diseases like cancer. When I am not in the lab I really enjoy working out. I am a competitive powerlifter and love lifting heavy weights. I also enjoy being in the outdoors and hiking. My favorite place that I have hiked was the Grand Canyon. I also enjoy trying new restaurants and cooking new tasty dishes.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Connecting Protein Function to Disease Progression

I have studied many different proteins that have so many different functions. With this project you will be able to learn how specific proteins are related to different diseases. Using published peer-reviewed articles, you can write a research paper detailing its function and what is known and the things that are unknown and that still need to be discovered.

Teaching experience

I have taught students how to conduct scientific research as a doctoral student and as a postdoctoral fellow. One was a high schooler who shadowed me as I taught and showed her about how to do research and different lab techniques. She is currently starting her college career where she wants to pursue a life in medicine, but before her shadowing concluded she told me that she would want to do some undergraduate research as well. Another was an undergrad who I took under my wing and taught him cell culture and microscopy techniques that helped me with my project. He has now graduated from UT-Austin and is also looking for a career in medicine, but the techniques that he learned from me allowed him to receive a summer job doing research in another lab before going to medical school.

Credentials

Work experience

University of Texas Austin (2020 - 2022)
Postdoc
Fisk and Vanderbilt University (2022 - Current)
Postdoc

Education

Butler University
BS Bachelor of Science (2014)
Chemical Biology
Georgia State University
MS Master of Science (2016)
Biophysical Chemistry
Howard University
PhD Doctor of Philosophy (2020)
Biochemistry

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